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Song Title Time Price Visit our audio page for more information In 1993, Billy Idol's 80's pop/rock punk shtick was losing its luster. As a result, he changed his approach and released 'Cyberpunk', which could be classified as a very loose concept album. The general consensus is that this is one of those albums you either really like or really didn't like. There was no middle ground. As someone who appreciated Billy Idol in the 1980's, put me down as one of the latter. Starting with the good news, 'Cyberpunk' is more creative and ambitious than any of the previous Billy Idol albums. It boasts a fresh, new electronic/techno sound. The leadoff single, "Shock to the system" is as strong as anything else Billy Idol has ever done, sounding very much like an updated "Rebel Yell." Idol has always had good taste in cover songs and one such track here, "Heroin", makes for a very bold statement. I like it. The other thing is that Billy does put a lot of effort into delivering the best album he can, he doesn't sleepwalk through this release. However, there are negatives that a casual Billy Idol fan will need to be aware of. The truth is, there are a lot of songs here that linger on too long. Billy Idol was, and still is, damn good at writing a three or four minute pop/rock single. Many of these songs exceed the five minute mark and some of them wouldn't be all that good, anyway, even if they were less than that. There are hardly any songs that have an actual hook, which is precisely what Billy Idol built his whole career around. The album is riddled with pointless song intros and outros lasting mere seconds, which qualify as little more than throwaway cuts. "Adam in Chains", which was pushed as a single and video, falls flat. Many other cuts are forgettable, or just plain mediocre. Many of them don't even merit further mention. Lyrically, 'Cyberpunk' is a mixed bag. Some lyrics are legitimately introspective, better than the usual Idol fare, while others are as cliched as anything Billy has ever sung before. You will also notice there is hardly any guitar, a trademark of the old albums, on 'Cyberpunk.' This is compounded by the lack of long-time contributor Steve Stevens on guitar. His presence would have made a difference. His replacement, Mark Younger-Smith, just doesn't quite measure up. The goal Billy Idol had was to pioneer a new hi-tech music style, hence the title 'Cyberpunk.' For that, he deserves credit for his attempt. It would have been much easier, safer (and arguably smarter) to turn up with another record like the previous release, 'Charmed Life.' In the end, this will be remembered as a commercial failure of sizable proportions, hence the low budget price on new copies. Many members of the Billy Idol fanbase were underwhelmed, or downright disappointed, including myself. The response, or lack thereof, was enough to make Billy Idol disappear from the studio for several years. Whether or not it was just coincidence is debatable. Billy continued to record a new song here and there, mostly for soundtracks or compilation-type releases, but eventually resurfaced with a greatest hits package and live VH1 Storytellers release (supported with a sold-out tour) at the beginning of the new millenium. With all that said, while I may never warm up to this Billy Idol album, it is a successful attempt to reinvent himself for the 1990's from an artistic standpoint. Fans of electronic music or techno may enjoy this, whether or not they were fans of Billy Idol. Members of the Billy Idol fanbase may want to sample a few tracks before committing to a purchase. This isn't for all of his fans. You can't even begin to compare this to anything else from the Billy Idol catalog. The closest Idol has come to something like this ('Cyberpunk') would be his 'Vital Idol' album, which remixed the greatest hits, with updated 1990's beats replacing those dated remixes. If "Shock to the system" wasn't already available on the Billy Idol greatest hits album from 2001, 'Cyberpunk' might actually be a more essential buy for most listeners. That one alone is almost worth the price of purchase.

Cyberpunk Available from Amazon Price: $1.03 Updated on 10-2-2008.